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Paramount impersonator pleads guilty

Faces up to 20 years for wire fraud

A Nevada man who posed as a "public relations coordinator" for Paramount Pictures has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud.

Andy James posed as fake exec "Carson Rogan" to convince hardware suppliers to send him materials that he claimed would be placed in feature films.

He has also pleaded guilty to three counts of making false claims for filing tax returns that sought more than $32,000 in returns.

In the wire fraud charge, James admitted he sent hundreds of emails to vendors and even registered a fake Paramount Internet domain name to create an email address. In one ruse, James sent Salt Lake city company Martin Doors an email saying construction materials would be used for a phony project called "The World is My Stage." James actually wanted a new garage door and other hardware installed in his home.

The vendors suffered a total loss of $285,000 because of the scheme.

He is scheduled to be sentenced July 21 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for the wire fraud case and 15 years for the tax case.